Book a Call Schedule a Consultation

California Workers' Comp Rate Calculator

Estimate a California workers' comp premium from payroll, a rate per $100 and your experience mod. Defaults are explained under the rate field.

Regulator
California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation
Market Type
Private insurers and State Compensation Insurance Fund
Rating Organization
WCIRB
Class System
California (WCIRB) classifications
Step 1 — Your Business
About Your California Business
Step 2 — Experience & Claims
Your Claims History
Total Incurred ($)
# of Claims
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Step 3 — Compare Options
Coverage Options
Your Results
Premium Estimate
Estimated Annual Premium
$0
Payroll/100 × Rate × EMR
YearEstimate
Illustrative Mod Path (3 Years)
Current Path
PEO Path

An estimate, not a quote. How this calculator works.

Get a Free Custom Report

Workers' comp in California: what's different

California runs a competitive market with a large public player. Employers can insure with a licensed private carrier, buy from the State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund), or get state approval to self-insure. The Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC), part of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), oversees claims and runs the workers' comp courts. Rating work goes to the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB), the rating organization the Insurance Commissioner designates under state law. The WCIRB builds the class system and proposes advisory pure premium rates, and the Commissioner rules on them.

Who must carry coverage

There is no headcount floor. DWC says employers must have coverage even with just one employee, and part-time workers are covered too.

Details to watch:

  • Roofers. DWC warns that a roofer with no employees still has to carry workers' comp. Under the contractor licensing law, a C-39 roofing license cannot use the "no employees" exemption that other contractors may file.
  • Other contractors. The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) requires a workers' comp certificate or an exemption on file as a condition of the license. SB 1455 (2024) pushed back the rule requiring coverage for every licensee, employees or not, to January 1, 2028. From that date, Business and Professions Code section 7125 keeps the no-employee exemption only for joint ventures.
  • Corporate officers and directors. They count as employees when paid for their work. One who owns at least 10% of the stock can opt out by signing a written waiver under penalty of perjury, effective when the insurer accepts it. A 1% owner can do the same if a parent, grandparent, sibling, spouse, or child owns at least 10% and the officer has health insurance or a health plan. An officer or director who is the sole shareholder is excluded automatically unless the company elects coverage.
  • Partners and LLC members. Working partners and LLC members paid wages regardless of profits are employees. A general partner or managing member may opt out with the same kind of signed waiver.
  • Sole proprietors without employees are not required to cover themselves.
  • Household workers. A person working in your home is excluded if, in the 90 days before the injury, the job was for under 52 hours or paid no more than $100.
  • Out-of-state employers may need California coverage if employees regularly work in the state or the hiring contract was made here.

Where coverage comes from

DWC lists three routes: a policy from a licensed insurer, a policy from State Fund, or self-insurance. State Fund is run by the state on a nonprofit basis and governed by an 11-member board. It competes with private carriers for business. Self-insurance needs approval from the director of DIR. DWC's employer FAQ puts the bar at $5 million in net worth, $500,000 a year in net income, and a security deposit.

Who sets rates

Rates are not set by the state. The WCIRB collects loss data and files advisory pure premium rates. These cover expected losses and claim adjustment costs only, with no insurer overhead or profit. The Commissioner must hold a public hearing within 60 days of a filing and then approve, disapprove, or modify it. Insurers are not bound by the result. Each carrier files its own rates with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) and must use them once filed.

The current benchmark took effect September 1, 2026. The WCIRB filed on April 30, 2026, asking for an average 10.4% increase, which would have meant $1.71 per $100 of payroll. After a June 9 hearing, Commissioner Ricardo Lara on July 10, 2026 adopted an average of $1.65 per $100, a 6.6% increase. Both percentages are measured from $1.55, the 2025 average restated on updated exposure weights by class. As adopted the year before, effective September 1, 2025, that average was $1.52, an 8.7% increase at the time.

Class codes are California's own, set by the WCIRB's Standard Classification System. Roofing is split by pay: 5552 covers employees below an hourly wage cutoff and 5553 covers those at or above it. Check the WCIRB class description for the cutoff that applies to your policy period. Code 5551, the roofing code in NCCI states, does not appear in California's September 1, 2026 rate table.

Experience rating

The WCIRB calculates and publishes experience modifications, and California states them as percentages, so 100% is average. Rating is mandatory for any business that qualifies, and the mod follows the employer to whatever insurer writes the policy. Eligibility depends on payroll in the experience period multiplied by each class's expected loss rate. That total must meet a threshold the WCIRB adjusts every year and publishes in Section III, Rule 1 of the Experience Rating Plan.

If no insurer will write you

Turn to State Fund. DWC describes it as the insurer of last resort when private companies are not willing to offer a policy.

Penalties for going uninsured

  • Criminal. Failing to insure when you knew, or should have known, of the duty is a misdemeanor. A first conviction carries up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to twice the unpaid premium with a $10,000 minimum, or both.
  • Stop order. DIR must serve a stop order barring use of employee labor until you get coverage.
  • Penalty assessments. With a stop order comes a penalty of $1,500 per employee. If you were uninsured more than a week in the prior year, the penalty is the larger of twice the missed premium or $1,500 per employee. DWC says state penalties against illegally uninsured employers can reach $100,000.
  • Lawsuits. An uninsured employer loses the exclusive remedy shield, so an injured worker can sue as well as file a comp claim. If you do not pay an award, the Uninsured Employers Benefit Trust Fund pays the worker, and DWC says the fund may then contact you.

Your ongoing obligations

  • Post the notice. Labor Code section 3550 requires a poster naming your carrier (or self-insured status) and who adjusts claims, in English and Spanish where Spanish-speaking employees work. Not posting is a misdemeanor and counts as prima facie evidence that you are uninsured. DWC says the civil penalty can reach $7,000 per violation.
  • Notify new hires. Give each new employee written notice of their rights at hiring or by the end of the first pay period. DWC publishes a time of hire pamphlet for this.
  • Hand out the claim form. Give an injured worker the DWC 1 claim form within one working day of learning of an injury that causes lost time beyond the shift or treatment beyond first aid.
  • Report the injury. File Form 5020 with your insurer within five days of learning of the injury. A serious injury, illness, or death must also be reported to Cal/OSHA immediately.

Worked example: how the calculator estimates premium

Premium = (payroll / 100) x rate per $100 x experience mod

The rate below is the WCIRB's approved advisory pure premium rate for code 5552 (roofing, lower-wage employees), $20.827 per $100 of payroll, effective September 1, 2026. A pure premium rate leaves out insurer expenses, so the example applies an illustrative multiplier of 1.50. For scale, CDI's 2026 decision put the industry average filed manual rate at $2.48 as of January 1, 2026, against the restated September 1, 2025 average pure premium rate of $1.55. The payroll and the mod are hypothetical.

  • Annual roofing payroll (hypothetical): $300,000
  • Code 5552 pure premium rate: $20.827
  • Expense multiplier (illustrative): 1.50
  • Experience mod (hypothetical): 95%, or 0.95

Step by step

  1. Rate: $20.827 x 1.50 = $31.2405 per $100
  2. Payroll in hundreds: $300,000 / 100 = 3,000
  3. Manual premium: 3,000 x $31.2405 = $93,721.50
  4. Apply the mod: $93,721.50 x 0.95 = $89,035.43

The wage split matters. The same payroll in code 5553, at $12.112, comes to $51,778.80 with the same multiplier and mod. Your real price depends on your carrier's filed rates.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need workers' comp with one employee in California?

Yes. DWC says coverage is required even with a single employee, part-time workers included.

Does a roofer with no employees need coverage?

Yes. DWC says roofers must carry workers' comp even with no employees, and a C-39 license holder cannot file the CSLB no-employee exemption.

Is State Fund my only option?

No. You can buy from any licensed insurer, buy from State Fund, or self-insure with DIR approval. State Fund competes with private carriers and is the insurer of last resort.

Why is California's roofing code not 5551?

California uses the WCIRB's own classification system. Roofing is 5552 or 5553 depending on the employee's hourly wage.

Official sources

Sources accessed 2026-10-16.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details with the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers' Compensation.

Reviewer: Sam Newland, CFP, Founder of Benefitra. Last updated October 17, 2026. How the calculator works. Editorial policy.